By: Mike Riley

A few years back, the Washington Post printed an article that pondered the reluctance of Americans to read the instructions that come with new products. Too often, consumers struggle with (or even end up returning) items they can’t figure out how to use, or that they assume don’t work because they’re using the product incorrectly. Companies’ customer service lines are tied up by people asking routine questions about their purchases, and phone calls that could be avoided if people would take the time to read the manual.

Barbara Hyland Guest Writer

He was a brilliant man. Those who knew him well and those who only knew him by reputation said he had more than merely “raw” intelligence. He had been given a particular gift and of course, it was from God (1 Kings 3:5-15). He was handed the kingdom on a platter. His father had already defeated the principal opponents in the struggle for the land. Now he had to build the temple to God to secure the borders of the kingdom and keep the peace.

In our public prayers, we often thank God for the fact that we live in a country where we can worship Him without fear of reprisal or molestation. Indeed, this kind of prayer is specifically approved in Scripture: “Therefore I exhort first of all those supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 to, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Why Preach the Word? Because preaching is important to God! The Bible says that God has “manifested His word through preaching” (Titus 1:3). Jesus told his disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Paul stated that “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe”
(1 Corinthians 1:2). In another place the same apostle said, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). The Bible emphatically declares that preaching is important!